Zephaniah 3:17...

The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.

God chose me to be on this trip...He truly loves me - He cares so much about what I go through...He even sings over me! This verse was given to me by three different people. At the second songwriting workshop in Roubaix, a praise song using this text was created. Zephaniah 3:17 seemed to appear from nowhere randomly throughout the trip...but, it's really never random, is it? At the end of our time in England, Helen prayed over me that God would make connections for me...quite cool :)

I discovered though, that the connections don't come by themselves. I need to prioritize my time with my Father...He works out the rest. Seriously, everything else. Time, money, people, blessings, attitudes, heart...it's all His job - not mine :) what a relief.

I think the easiest way to give you the overview of the trip is to do this...Please! Ask me for details :)
Some of the things I loved most about this missions trip:
*Freedom of worship
*Freedom of prayer
*Discovering how close I can be to my Father
*Creating new songs
...3 amazing, God-inspired songs from 2 workshops!
*Meeting people from different cultures
...France of course :)
...England
...Brazil
...North Africa
...Central Africa
*Spending time with my Resonance team including:
...being Abi's Teddy
...drumming with Josiah
...being twins with Sarah
...swing dancing with Marquis
...singing with Jen
...praying with Heather
...worshiping with Chris
...studying the Word with Kendrah
...and everything about Uncle Dave! :D

This has truly been the best 6 weeks of my life! I've grown so much in my faith...PLUS I got to see others grow too! The awesomeness of God is beyond what I could ever say, but songs do pretty well ;)

There must be more than this,
Oh breath of God come breathe within...
There must be more than this,
Spirit of God we wait for you.
Fill us anew we pray, fill us anew we pray
Consuming Fire, fan into flame
A passion for Your name!
Spirit of God, fall in this place,
Lord have Your way, Lord have your way
With us
Come like a rushing wind,
Clothe us with power from on high,
Now set the captives free,
Leave us abandoned to Your praise.

Faithful God + My Time = Joy...

I feel inspired to write about joy...I was so concerned from 'day one' when I was getting things together for this trip. Worried that I would be too busy to make the most of this mission...people are funny like that. Worry gets so consuming. But I am so relieved and glad to say that God has helped me to get past this problem. These few days - although they've been packed and intense - have been the most enjoyable days of my life. Literally. Why? Because I'm not forcing happiness...not squeezing it out of every situation and activity. If I've learned anything here, it's that joy really comes through serving the Lord. The more I focus on God, the happier I am...I know. At first, I thought it would never work - sounds way too cheesy. I was wrong...the joy of the Lord really is my strength! It's an incredible feeling that I've never experienced until now, but it's so powerful, I pray that all of you will be able to as well! I told Josiah today over tea that "I can hardly believe this...it really works!" :D But you have to keep up your end...commit time to God. Everyday. I've been reading a book by David Wilkerson and it says that we need to feed on the Word of God daily. There is never enough to carry you over into the next day. You need to sustain yourself with Spiritual nourishment every day.

I'd like you all to pray for our team for tomorrow night. We have our first 'real' concert! "Beats 'n Eats" :) We're performing all kinds of stuff from Arabic praise songs to Irish jigs. (And lots of things in between) We've been having a blast practicing, but I pray (and I ask you to as well) that we'd be able to reach the hearts of the people coming. I pray that they will understand that God loves any and every kind of worship we can give Him. He is worthy of every single note we play and sing...in any language - African, English, or French.

I keep becoming more and more certain that our Father is going to use us in phenomenal ways. We're leaving for France on Saturday also!! Please keep us in prayer! Thank you! God bless...

Beginning With Tea...

The art of English tea: first, a splash or two of milk, then fill the mug with tea and add sugar. Walks in the English countryside are heavenly :) Of course, when you put the two photographers of the group together, things can get interesting...we won't go there...

I've really been loving our time here in England. I just want to thank God for everything He's putting into our lives right now...including tea time :) So many things are wonderful, but there are also the struggles and conflicts. I know He's got it all under control though, and He's not letting us fight our battles alone. In fact, there's a verse in 2 Chronicles that says, "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's."

Yesterday was a really difficult day for many people on our team. We will all be attacked at some point during this trip if we haven't been already - we understand that. But for some reason, yesterday carried a lot of spiritual strain. During a time of intense prayer, I just became so thankful for our team - not really being a "team" though, we're getting more and more like family. I'm so excited that God has put us all together so we can really be brothers and sisters! I'm so happy that we're able and encouraged to open up and tell each other about our doubts, fears, anxieties, and everything else :) we won't be judged for doing it, and we'll receive any and every kind of support and floods of prayer. Yes. Epic.

After I gave my testimony yesterday, we sang an old song. This song, I mean, it's nice, but it wasn't ever one on my Top 10 Hits :) But yesterday, the lyrics of that song just collided into my heart and mind. It was an incredible revelation...after every phrase, as you read it, just think hard about these lyrics. Almost everyone knows this song, but we just know it too well. This song will apply to everyone - all the time.

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear.
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Privilege? I guess so...you can't do this with everybody. God is so faithful and so patient and so eager to hear everything we want to tell Him. Not just our griefs, but also our joys and praises! Please remember, you really do have a friend in Jesus. He's willing to put His arm around your shoulder and listen. You just have to sit down next to Him. :)

Please keep praying for our team. Big things are happening right now, literally. Pray for spiritual strength - and further than that, spiritual growth. Wisdom and perseverance too...and whatever else God lays on your heart. :)
 

Music, Prayer, Fellowship...Intense.

So this will most likely come as a great shock to many of you...I have acquired a new respect and appreciation of Gospel music. I know, I know, since WHEN does Christianna like Gospel music?!? Now I didn't say that...I respect and appreciate it. :) Not so much for the style in itself or content of the music, but more for the quality. I found myself listening with rapture to the intensity, vitality, and sincerity of the Gospel singer's heart. Talk about powerful.

So I've been loving this music we're getting into, but really, I think one of the most amazing parts of this trip is prayer. We pray a lot here :) but we had the most incredible prayer session tonight.  At first, I admit, I was uncomfortable with praying in front of people I don't know well. But as I heard others pour their hearts out to the Father, I was just drawn into it...and I didn't really care what people thought of my prayer anymore. We must've spent an hour just letting everything - all our concerns, doubts, thanks, and praises - go to our Maker. I don't think I'll ever forget that experience. Awesomeness at it's peak.

Fellowship...through all of our meetings, Arabic lessons, Ethomusicology training, orientations, and just plain lunch, I've been getting closer to every member of the team. God has us all here for a unique purpose. One thing I've been noticing is actually an undeniable fact...and I'm kind of ashamed I haven't acknowledged it until now! Get ready...God is intense. Intense is a word we have used for a lot of things over the past couple of days, (i.e. intense music, intense experience we're going to have) but really, God is the ultimate definition of 'intense'. And I've only been here for a day and a half!! Wow. We are in for a really epic journey!! Keep praying people! Thank you!

The Mansion...

Well, rather, a castle. :) Quite epic if I may say so myself. One of my team member friends just said, "I feel like I'm in a vintage place." When I got here, honestly I wasn't sure what to make of it. Not just the castle, but what my new friends would be like. Now, I see how incredibly different we all are. How unique. God has brought us all together for a purpose and He knows what the outcome of our adventure will be. I am so excited to see how He will use us and employ our various talents to complement each other and work to glorify Himself!
We have our first performance tomorrow! Please pray that everyone playing and listening will wholeheartedly be worshiping the Lord and that we will be able to focus on Christ's love more than our sound. Pray that we will all have confidence as we face this "practice" performance - if there is such a thing. ;) Thank you so much! God is already working in us as we make our plans and arrange our agendas for the coming weeks!

2 days and counting...

Several months ago...

I felt very spiritually stagnant. I wanted to give my life over to God completely but I was frustrated because I couldn't find a way to show it or make it happen. I prayed. I asked others to pray with me. My prayers did not go unheeded. I was given this opportunity to go to France with Josiah and several other incredible individuals willing to surrender their summers to bring the Word of God to these people! These people? Communities of immigrants from North Africa. What a unique experience!!! Imagine...I know God is going to do something amazing in these next couple of months and I hope you will be a part of it!

I want to thank all of you for your assistance finanicially, but most of all, we appreciate your prayers! There are many dangers and stumbling blocks - not just earthly troubles, but also unseen enemies. The power of prayer is the most effective weapon...and it doubles as a shield! So please, continue to pray for each member of the team and the hearts of everyone involved! Thanks so much!

We have two more days in Vermont...then it's off to Fort Washington, PA to meet my new brothers and sisters! Ma grande aventure pour Dieu commence! Que Dieu vous benisse!